Diana Flahive

Creative Director and Visionary

(pictured above, right)

 

We often forget our human connectedness.  Throughout my life, I have felt the greatest beauty lies in this connection.  ….  This connection is a powerful thing, with the ability to transform lives, and ultimately transform human experience.” Kristi Bowman, Journey to One: A women’s Story of emotional healing and Spiritual Awakening. 

 

Whether dancing for the Dali Lama, creating a dual language school for low-income Latino children, raising three interesting sons, becoming an interfaith minister, or as ED for the Community Schools, I have used my compassion and creative abilities in a variety of ways to try and make a difference.  With good genes, a loving husband and family, a safe and warm place to live, and interesting work, I have had a most fortunate life.

 

My sensitivity for those who have hardship in their world, may have its origins in the challenging history of my parents. Empathetic suffering can feel overwhelming.  However, when I can create tangible responses to difficult issues, bring people and resources together, freedom sings in my soul.

 

As the Community Minister for Capitol Hill United Ministries, I have had the fortune of diving into the hidden world of homelessness.  While companioning the women, bringing together congregations and hundreds of volunteers, we created a system of shelter for f women who would otherwise be on the streets.  Through this work, relationships have formed and lives have changed. 

 

This book has been another dream made real.  Our team has worked together creating deep relationships while using our gifts to tell a story of transformation.  I have had a most fortunate life. 

 

 

Cecilia Broder

Photographic Artist

(pictured above, left)

 

“Artistic sensibility is the capacity to make the invisible visible by embracing the magical, the perverse, the excluded.”  Carlos Fuentes.

 

My life’s tapestry has been interwoven with family, a love of photography and a career focusing on social justice issues.

 

Family has always been the center of my life, raising two wonderful sons who continue to bring joy.  I am also fortunate to have had parents who spurred my interest in photography at the early age of ten. Whether it is a landscape, a street scene or a candid shot, my photos reflect what I am thinking, feeling and seeing at that moment in time. I challenge myself to tell the story of the places I visit and the people I meet.

 

Through my journey, I am also fortunate to have had a career working with others to address critical social issues such as homelessness.  It is through the work at Mile High United Way that I learned the importance of working in collaboration with others to bring about change.

 

The Women’s Homeless Initiative clearly understands collaboration and lives the words of Helen Keller – “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

 

I thank this team of incredible women who invited me to join them in creating this gift of art and reflection.  It has truly been a work of love, learnings and new beginnings.  I am grateful for their friendship and their commitment to women who have no place to call home. 

 

And to The Women’s Homeless Initiative - THANK YOU.

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Sheila Norris

Poet

(pictured above, center)

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“Breathe in experience, Breathe in poetry”  Muriel Rukeyser

Words and I have a long history together.  I have always been curious about and enamored by their intrinsic power, their ancient roots and nuanced meanings.  A lifelong journal keeper, filling blank pages over the years has helped me make sense of the world around me as well as illuminating my own inner landscape. 

 

 In recent years, I scribed a monthly email reflection series for fellow seekers searching for clarity in uncertain times.  Three years ago I was drawn to the minimalist nature of poetry and have studied under a ninety plus year old poetess on Cape Cod.  Workshops and drop in writing sessions with fellow writers have sharpened my desire to dive beneath the surface of appearances and to explore the fundamental connections between self, essence and The Other.

 

When rewinding the various chapters of my professional life, there is a common thread of “openness to the Other” woven through myriad careers.  The notion of both seeking and providing sanctuary for others has been a lifelong endeavor for me, figuring prominently in my prose and poetry.  The practice of hospitality is indeed a fine art that requires an entire lifetime to master. Perhaps reading this collection of poems, prose and photography will shift and deepen your capacity to see with the eyes of your heart, prompting greater hospitality towards strangers, friends, family and yourself.